General news

"10 Fest Azores" returns with two Michelin stars

The School of Tourism and Hotel Formation (EFTH) promoted until July 1st, in Ponta Delgada, the gastronomic festival "10 Fest Açores" with a presence of ten 'chefs', two of them Michelin stars.

"The festival '10 Fest Azores' intends to promote the region in a gastronomic event that invites ten chefs to serve ten dinners in ten days. This is an event that will be in its sixth edition and that provides a different experience than the presentation of our regional products, "said EFTH's Executive Director, Graça Teixeira.

The official said that the chefs invited to participate in the event by the school will use the regional products and "interpret them in a contemporary way", projecting them internationally.

According to Graça Teixeira, the objective of this initiative, which represents the culmination of EFTH's academic year, is "to give students the opportunity to contact references of top cooking in the country and in the world." "The main concern in the preparation of this event is to provide our collaborators and trainees with unique learning moments with the participating chefs and celebrate with the public the gastronomy of the Azores and its wealth. Taking advantage of Azorean products, exploiting their potential, taking into account the traditional recipe is the motto and inspiration”, he said.

The executive director said that the event began as an initiative that aimed to mark the ten years of the training school, being today a "registered trademark, international reference for contemporary cuisine in the Azores."

Graça Teixeira said that chefs from New York, London, Montreal, Belgium, Mallorca, Lisbon, Évora, Alentejo and Ponta Delgada will be present, with the first dinner being held tomorrow by the first Michelin star of the Alentejo, Miguel Laffan.

She also pointed out that the second day is dedicated to the Azorean chefs and "serves to show how much it costs" the team led by Sandro Meireles and Pedro Oliveira and the 'subchef' Nuno Santos, who will share the kitchen with seven more chefs ', some of them former school pupils who are working outside the region and others active in the Azores.

Graça Teixeira also emphasized the presence of the chef George Mendes, of the United States of America, the son of Portuguese parents, who, after conquering his Michelin star for Aldea, the restaurant with Portuguese cuisine inspired by the country in a gastronomic trip that explained in his book "My Portugal: Stories and Recipes".